A Crimson Bloom
by GrimGrave
Summary: It's a new year and Byleth and Edelgard have a little heart-to-heart at the strike of midnight. Edeleth fluff. Contains non-graphic nudity. Happy New Year everyone!


**Fire Emblem and characters associated belong to Nintendo. GrimGrave owns nothing.**

Better late than never. Happy New Year and here's hoping for a good continuation with some Edeleth.

_**A Crimson Bloom**_

A crisp wind roused her from her sleep. Though her body was safely underneath the covers with heat provided by the copper bed warmer, the chillness caressed the woman's face as if beckoning her. The embers in the pan had yet to die out judging by the light crackle, but the hearth would need to be fed.

As she adjusts her eyes to the dark and tries to locate the source of the unwarranted cold she notices the tall figure standing out on the balcony. The moonlight, from up there on its high perch, illuminates the figure, a woman, and her long white hair seems to glow as if absorbing essence of the moon and flow like water. Her body is not dressed; rather she's bare like the day she was born and her beautiful skin, marred from countless battles and unspeakable horrors of the past, is on full display. She's tall and her back is not too broad, her arms slender yet strong, butt firm and her legs are toned. There's an athletic build to her form that manages to retain her femininity and it's admirable to say the least.

The woman is looking up at the night sky, at the stars and moon, when the silence is broken and the dark is illuminated by a myriad of bright colours.

It's a New Year.

Smiling, she gets out of bed and ignores her state of undress as she joins the silver-haired woman on the balcony who does not seem to particularly surprised by the sudden company. She hugs the woman from behind and rests her chin on the woman's shoulder as they admire the bright lights.

"We almost missed it, professor- "The woman catches herself. "I mean, Byleth. I still haven't broken that habit."

The dark-haired professor chuckled. "I guess we were so tuckered out from earlier that we went straight to sleep, El," Byleth replied. "You should've put on some clothes though, it's still winter. You'll catch your death out here if you linger."

Edelgard scoffed. "I've survived years of Crest experiments, wars, and a battle in a burning city against a tyrant. A mere wind won't take me. Besides, I have your body to keep me warm it seems."

"Still not an excuse to stand out on the balcony in naught but your skin, my love." Byleth paused and relinquish her embrace for a moment as she enters the room and comes back out, wrapping them both in the still-warm cover from their bed. "There. Better."

"Yes…" Edelgard smiles to herself and clutches the cover closer as Byleth once more hugs her from behind. "_Much_ better."

"It's been a long time since the war ended, hasn't it?"

"The years have flown by as swift as an arrow, it feels," Edelgard stated. The woe in her tone was not lost on her wife who hugged her tighter and comfortingly. "Those Who Slither in the Dark are no more, Fódlan is unified, and people are no longer bound to the old class system. What a journey it has been."

Byleth softly chuckled and kissed her wife's neck. "And here's hoping that the next one is just as wonderful and exciting as the last."

"Indeed. As soon as I can find a suitable successor, we'll leave to wherever the winds take us."

The sky lit up the brightest with crimson lights blooming like flowers overhead. The wind faded.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

"It absolutely is. What do you think of traveling across the sea? See new lands?"

Edelgard stiffened. "You know I…can't swim. The ocean makes me-"

"Then we can travel by land and see what lies beyond Fódlan that way." She brushes her fingers against her wife's cheek. "Sounds good?"

"Mm…By land sounds good. Thank you." She looks back up at the sky and the diminishing lights. "Looks like it's almost done. A shame. Shall we return to bed then?"

"The winter winds certainly haven't done us any favours when it comes to falling back asleep," Byleth stated with a barely noticeable smirk. "Do we have any plans for tomorrow, El?"

The Empress chuckled knowingly. "Only a late luncheon with Ferdinand and Caspar about the military affairs, and then Lysithea, Dorothea, and Manuela are arriving as dinner guests. Hubert is handling everything else."

A few more pyrotechnics soar up into the sky, illuminating in azure and verdant.

"So we don't have get up early, huh?"

Edelgard laughed and playfully swatted at her wife's hand. "Byleth Eisner, is your mind firmly set on only one thing?" They shared a laugh as Byleth led them back inside, closing the balcony doors unceremoniously.

"I'm not tired and I doubt you are." She gently caresses her Empress' skin and places feather-light kisses over her cheek. "Do you want to continue where we left off?"

She softly coos and leans into the lips gracing her skin. "Perhaps we should, my teacher…"

"My Empress…" Edelgard spins around and embraces her as she busy the former mercenary's lips with her own. The spark, the tingling feeling of kissing someone you love for the first time, still occurs after so many years. Breathlessly, she pulls back barely an inch. "Let me just get the fire going-"

With her arm extended outward towards the hearth and a flick of her wrist, flames is conjured out of the palm of her hand and like a wisp darts into the logs. The flames grow bigger and warmth immediately spreads over the room.

Byleth cocks an eyebrow and smiles at her. "A `Fire´ spell, huh? So you _did_ study Reason magic."

"You did teach me that it's good to have options," Edelgard replied and cups Byleth's face with a content sigh. "And what a great teacher you were…"

"I try my best for my favourite student and love."

"You certainly do…However, my love," she replied and steals a quick, heated kiss before she spins them both around like in a dance; elegant and not a step out of place. She pushes Byleth down onto the bed as the covers fall to the floor, ridding any barriers between them as Edelgard stands before her with a heated look in her eyes. "Tonight, **I** will be the teacher."

**x.x.x.x**

_Once a worthy successor was found and further instructed by Empress Edelgard, her wife Byleth, and Hubert the advisor, the couple left Fódlan for lands unknown and settled down elsewhere, living the simple, humble life. Wherever they went, they lived happily together to the end of their days._


End file.
